Cast of Lilo & Stitch: Complete Original and Remake Lineups

Few Disney films still spark the same warmth the way Lilo & Stitch does—part alien chaos, part Hawaiian heart, entirely beloved. Now a live-action remake in 2025 gives longtime fans a chance to see those familiar characters brought to life by new faces, with some original voices returning alongside them.

Original Lilo (2002): Daveigh Chase · Original Stitch (2002): Chris Sanders · Remake Lilo (2025): Maia Kealoha · Remake Stitch (2025): Chris Sanders · Remake Nani (2025): Sydney Elizebeth Agudong

The table below maps each major character to their actor across both versions, showing who stayed, who returned in a new role, and who was recast entirely.

Who plays Lilo in Lilo and Stitch (2025)?

The 2025 remake introduces Maia Kealoha as Lilo Pelekai in what marks her feature film debut. Casting a newcomer for such an iconic role was a bold choice by Disney, but it echoes the spirit of the original—Daveigh Chase was also a young, relatively unknown actress when she landed the part in 2002.

Maia Kealoha as Lilo

Maia Kealoha brings Lilo to life as a live-action lead in her theatrical debut. According to entertainment coverage, the production sought a young Hawaiian actress for authenticity, and Kealoha fit the bill perfectly.

Supporting young actress debut

The 2025 Lilo also benefits from the remake’s deepening of Hawaiian cultural elements. New characters like Tūtū (played by Amy Hill) provide additional local grounding around Lilo and Nani’s world.

Who voices Stitch in the original Lilo & Stitch?

The original 2002 animated film assembled a talented mix of established names and rising stars. Chris Sanders notably wore two hats—voice actor for Stitch and co-director of the film, making him the thread connecting both versions more than two decades apart.

Daveigh Chase as Lilo

Daveigh Chase voiced Lilo in the 2002 animated feature, bringing a quirky intensity that made the character feel both wild and vulnerable. Chase would later appear in television roles but never matched the breakout impact of her Lilo performance.

Chris Sanders as Stitch

Chris Sanders created Stitch’s distinctive vocal sounds—those gurgles, growls, and whines—and the character’s body language. He also co-directed the 2002 film alongside Dean DeBlois, giving Stitch a physical comedy sensibility that still holds up.

Tia Carrere as Nani

Tia Carrere, known for her roles in Wayne’s World and Aloha, voiced the protective older sister Nani. In the 2025 remake, Carrere returns but in a different role—Mrs. Kekoa, a social worker character who supports the Pelekai family.

The implication: the 2025 remake rewards attentive viewers by recasting familiar faces in meaningful ways, creating layers of nostalgia for returning fans.

Is there a pink Stitch?

Yes—and her name is Angel. The pink version of Stitch appears primarily in the extended Lilo & Stitch franchise (including television series and merchandise) rather than the core films.

Angel as Experiment 624

Angel is designated Experiment 624, making her Stitch’s numeric counterpart in the alien experiment lineup. Both creatures share similar abilities and a mischievous nature, though Angel has her own distinct personality.

Voice actress for Angel

Angel appears in various Lilo & Stitch animated series and spin-offs, voiced by several actresses across the franchise. Whether the 2025 live-action remake includes Angel in any capacity remains unconfirmed.

The catch: if you’re hoping to see Angel on the big screen in 2025, you’ll likely be waiting—the focus of the remake centers on Stitch’s original story, not the broader experiment roster.

What alien number is Angel?

Angel is Experiment 624, officially designated as Stitch’s counterpart and romantic interest in the alien experiment canon. The numbering system runs through hundreds of experiments, with Stitch at 626.

Experiment 624 details

The experiment numbering in Lilo & Stitch lore follows a pattern: 624 is Angel, 626 is Stitch. The gap between them (625) is typically explained as an experiment with a different designation or role within the story.

Role in Lilo & Stitch

Angel’s role in the franchise varies by medium—sometimes as Stitch’s love interest, sometimes as a standalone character with her own adventures. She’s consistently depicted as pink with a white belly tuft and distinctive flower-marked saddle.

Is Stitch a girl or a boy?

Stitch is definitively male. This has been consistent across the 2002 animated film and all subsequent franchise materials, confirmed through character design, voice acting, and official Disney documentation.

Stitch character gender

Stitch is identified as male Experiment 626, created by Jumba Jookiba as a weapon of galactic destruction. His male designation is never ambiguous in the source material, though the character’s mischievous nature sometimes leads to casual misinterpretation.

Voice actor Chris Sanders

Chris Sanders voices Stitch in both the 2002 original and the 2025 live-action remake. According to entertainment reporting, the voice performance remained unchanged, anchoring the CGI character in familiar territory for fans who grew up with Sanders’ performance.

What this means: the 2025 remake preserves the core character identity, voice and all.

2002 vs 2025: Key Character Changes

Three roles differ most substantially between versions. Nani transitions from voice to live-action performance under a different actress. Jumba and Pleakley swap alien forms for human disguises played by new actors. And Cobra Bubbles gets a significant backstory shift.

The pattern: the 2025 remake reimagines the alien duo as humans-in-disguise played by Galifianakis and Magnussen, trading the original’s animatronic alien aesthetic for a comedy-of-errors premise where their disguises don’t quite hold up.

Who plays Nani in the 2025 Lilo & Stitch remake?

Sydney Elizebeth Agudong plays Nani Pelekai in the 2025 live-action version. This marks a significant transition from the 2002 animated original, where Tia Carrere voiced the protective older sister.

The table below maps each major character to their actor across both versions.

The upshot: the 2025 cast brings fresh faces to most roles while preserving essential continuity through Chris Sanders’ return as Stitch and three other original cast members appearing in new capacities.

Who is Jumba in Lilo & Stitch 2025?

Zach Galifianakis plays Jumba Jookiba in the 2025 remake—a significant departure from the 2002 original, where David Ogden Stiers provided the voice for the alien villain’s distinctive form.

The key change: the 2025 version depicts Jumba in human disguise rather than his alien form, a shift that applies to both Jumba and his partner Pleakley.

“Since Stitch’s voice is every bit as iconic as his design, Sanders returns to play the character in the live-action remake.”

— ComicBook.com entertainment report

“The Lilo & Stitch live action remake, on the other hand, looks almost identical to the original, and I feel like that’s kind of the problem.”

— CinemaBlend film criticism

The Bottom Line

The 2025 Lilo & Stitch remake strikes an unusual balance: honoring the original’s heart while recasting nearly every major role. For fans of the 2002 film, the return of Chris Sanders as Stitch provides essential continuity—the voice performance remains unchanged, anchoring the CGI character in familiar territory.

The trade-off: viewers who connected with 2002’s voice cast will notice Tia Carrere and Jason Scott Lee in different roles entirely. Nani gets a new actress entirely, and the alien villains become human. The 2025 remake deepens cultural grounding with Hawaiian cast members and new local characters like Tūtū and Mrs. Kekoa.

For 2025 audiences, the choice is straightforward: return to the franchise for familiar emotional beats and a faithful (some critics say too-faithful) recreation of key scenes, or watch the 2002 original for its original voice performances that defined a generation’s image of Stitch. The consequence for Sanders is clear—his unchanged voice performance becomes the primary bridge between the two versions.

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The transition from Daveigh Chase’s Lilo to Maia Kealoha’s live-action take finds parallels in this 2002 vs 2025 cast comparison highlighting key cast changes across both films.

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